Volume 64 Number 15
Produced: Sun, 10 Feb 19 12:06:47 -0500
Subjects Discussed In This Issue:
Another tachnun question
[Yisrael Medad]
Haftarah (4)
[Martin Stern Orrin Tilevitz Chaim Casper Roger Kingsley]
Nichum Aveilim
[Mark Goldenberg]
Omitting Tachnun related to a Bris (4)
[Martin Stern Chaim Casper Perets Mett Haim Snyder]
Yeshaya's son's name
[Martin Stern]
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From: Yisrael Medad <yisrael.medad@...>
Date: Sat, Feb 2,2019 at 05:01 PM
Subject: Another tachnun question
Carl Singer wrote (MJ 64#14):
> We know, of course, that one does not say tachnun if a Chusan is in shul.
>
> What if a kallah is present?
Tachanun is omitted according to the opinion of Rav Moshe Ehrenreich and Rav
Yosef Carmel supported by Rav Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg, Rav Nahum Rabinovitz
and Rav Israel Rosen.
https://www.yeshiva.org.il/midrash/18221
I do seem to recall we discussed this years ago.
--
Yisrael Medad
Shiloh
Israel
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From: Martin Stern <md.stern@...>
Date: Sat, Feb 2,2019 at 05:01 PM
Subject: Haftarah
Joel Rich wrote (MJ 64#14):
> I recently was in a Shul in Israel where they said the haftara from a Chumash
> yet the baal korei [reader] read it for the person who got the aliyah.
> Apparently this is standard practice in this Shul - has anyone seen this done
> elsewhere?
In the yeshiva where I daven on Shabbat, this is the standard practice though,
occasionally, some people do read the haftarah for themselves. Possibly it is
because the yeshiva has Yeshaya and Trei Asar on klaf, which most people can't
read accurately so requiring them to rely on a ba'al kore, and simply follows
the same procedure for other haftarot meshum lo plug [uniformity].
Martin Stern
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From: Orrin Tilevitz <tilevitzo@...>
Date: Sat, Feb 2,2019 at 09:01 PM
Subject: Haftarah
Joel Rich asks (MJ 64#14) whether anyone has seen a baal keria read the haftara
from a Chumash for the person who got the aliyah.
The halacha expresses a preference to pick a person for maftir who can also read
the haftara. In our little shul in Brooklyn, we've had the baal keria (yours
truly) read the haftara from a Tanach, which the Magen Avraham says is better)
for the person who got the aliya when there's nobody else (and I can't get
maftir because I've already had levi) or, for that matter, when I really want to
read the haftara myself.
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From: Chaim Casper <info@...>
Date: Sat, Feb 2,2019 at 09:01 PM
Subject: Haftarah
Joel Rich mentions (MJ 64#14) that he was in a shul where a baal korei (reader)
read the haftarah (for the person who received the maftir aliyah) from a Chumash
instead of, I assume, from a megillah on klaf (parchment). Why?
Is it possible the oleh (the person receiving the aliyah) did not know how to
read the haftarah with the proper ta'amei hamikrah (musical notes)?
By the way, the Mishneh Brurah rules that the preferred way to read the haftarah
is from a klaf. Second choice is to read it from a TaNa"Kh (Bible) as the
TaNa"kh has recorded the entire message of the Navi (prophet). Third option is
to read it from a Chumash. Rav Soloveitchik rejects this differentiation of a
TaNa"Kh and a Chumash and says if a klaf is not available, then either a TaNa"Kh
or Chumash would be just as good.
B'virkat Torah,
Chaim Casper
North Miami Beach, FL
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From: Roger Kingsley <rogerk@...>
Date: Sun, Feb 3,2019 at 05:01 AM
Subject: Haftarah
In response to Joel Rich (MJ 64#14):
This is the standard practice for decades in my shul (Harel in Qatamon,
Jerusalem). The only exception is for a Hatan or a Bar Mitzva, who can choose
to read it themselves. For the haftaras for which we have a klaf [parchment
scroll], the reading is from a klaf, but we don't have all the klafim and the
practice with the Chumash predates the availability of klafim.
The practice was instituted because there were people who insisted on their
right to receive the haftarah (on a yahrzeit) but were not noted for the
accuracy of their preparation. A "lo plug" policy seemed to fit the bill.
Roger Kingsley
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From: Mark Goldenberg <GOLDDDS@...>
Date: Sun, Feb 3,2019 at 05:01 PM
Subject: Nichum Aveilim
Joel Rich wrote (MJ 64#14):
> When one is physically distant from a friend who is sitting shiva, as a
> general rule, is it better to (pick one) call, text, or email during the shiva
> period? Or, is it better to wait until you actually see the person again?
The excerpt below is from a blog that appeared in the Times of Israel written by
Josh Grajower, who tragically lost his wife. The article was entitled
"Reflections of Shiva":
"From a purely practical standpoint, it is very, very difficult to take phone
calls during shiva. I understand the preference to call vs. e-mail, because it
seems a little more personal, but it ends up having the opposite effect. You
can't know what I'm doing at the moment at which you call, so it usually means
disrupting something or someone thereby detracting from both the significance
of your call, as well as any in-person conversation (or much needed meal) you
might be unwittingly interrupting. When a person takes the time to write a nice
e-mail, the end result tends to be much more meaningful and personal. I received
many heartfelt, emotional, thoughtful e-mails, and that format provided people
with an outlet to express themselves properly, and allowed me to receive their
messages at times during which I was able to devote my proper focus to the words
of comfort."
May we share only in Smachot
Mark Goldenberg DDS
Beverly Hills, CA
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From: Martin Stern <md.stern@...>
Date: Sat, Feb 2,2019 at 05:01 PM
Subject: Omitting Tachnun related to a Bris
Carl A. Singer wrote (MJ 64#14):
> Scenario 1:
>
> Our shul has a morning (6:10 or 6:15 AM) minyan daily. When there is a
> bris, there is usually a 7:30 or 8:00 AM minyan for those attending.
> None of the principals for the bris (mohel, father, etc.) are present
> during the first minyan.)
>
> However, a table and the Kesay Eliahu are present near the Aron Kodesh
> (only) when a Bris is planned.
>
>
> Scenario 2: The Mohel shows up before the first minyan has reached
> tachnun.
>
> Scenario 3: (Unlikely) The Mother or the Baby (but not the Mohel or the
> Father) are present before the first minyan has reached tachnun.
>
> Under which of these circumstances should the first minyan not recite tachnun?
Where I daven during the week (in the first minyan) we omit tachanun if there is
a brit to take place after the regular second minyan, which takes place in the
second beit hamidrash, or even if it is scheduled after an ad hoc third minyan
even though nothing has been laid out as yet in the main synagogue we use. A
sign is usually put up saying "Ein omrim tachanun" (it is not a chassidish
stiebel where saying tachanun is the exception rather than the regular practice).
Martin Stern
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From: Chaim Casper <info@...>
Date: Sat, Feb 2,2019 at 09:01 PM
Subject: Omitting Tachnun related to a Bris
In response to Carl Singer (MJ 64#14):
I believe Rav Ovadia Yosef, zt"l, ruled that in all three of the cases Carl
mentioned, tahanun would not be said in the first minyan because the whole
community is celebrating.
B'virkat Torah,
Chaim Casper
North Miami Beach, FL
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From: Perets Mett <p.mett00@...>
Date: Sun, Feb 3,2019 at 06:01 AM
Subject: Omitting Tachnun related to a Bris
In response to Carl A. Singer (MJ 64#14):
As regards Scenario 1 , tachanun is not said, see SO OC 131:4
As regards Scenario 2, if the bris is in shul, then as scenario 1; otherwise the
presence of a mohel who is not part of the minyan is not relevant
As regards Scenario 3, neither the mother nor the baby can be part of a minyan,
so there presence/absence is irrelevant.
Perets Mett
London
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From: Haim Snyder <haimsny@...>
Date: Sun, Feb 3,2019 at 07:01 PM
Subject: Omitting Tachnun related to a Bris
Carl A. Singer (MJ 64#14) presents 3 possible scenarios which he postulates
might cause omitting Tachnun in a minyan in which the brit was not going to be
performed but would be performed later in that shul.
The answer is: none of them are decisive re Tachnun omission. The criteria which
causes the omission is that the brit will be performed in that shul after the
service in question. If the brit will be performed in the afternoon, a minha
gdola minyan in that shul will also omit Tachnun in addition to the two (or
more) minyanim for shaharit.
Sincerely,
Haim Shalom Snyder
Petah Tikva
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From: Martin Stern <md.stern@...>
Date: Sat, Feb 9,2019 at 05:01 PM
Subject: Yeshaya's son's name
Towards the end of the haftarah of parashat Yitro, the Almighty tells Yeshaya
(according to the usual translation) "Please go and greet (King) Achaz, you and
your son She'ar Yashuv ..." (Yesh. 7:3).
I noticed it carried a very peculiar trop [cantillation sequence indicating the
punctuation]: She'ar (tippecha - a disjunctive), Yashuv (merecha - a
conjunctive), banecha (etnachta - major verse subdivision).
If his name is She'ar Yashuv why are the two components separated by this
sequence? On the contrary, one would have expected them to be linked by the
sequence: merecha, tippecha - or even linked by a makkef [hyphen] with a
tippecha on Yashuv.
Two possibilities occurred to me:
1. There may be some obscure rule, of which I am unaware, that, under certain
circumstances, the sequence merecha tippecha is reversed and so the tippecha is
not really a disjunctive. Does anyone know of such a massoretic rule and, if so,
what are the circumstances in which it applies?
2. His name is She'ar and 'yashuv banecha' has to be understood as a qualifying
phrase meaning something like 'your son will return' - as if to reassure Yeshaya
that, even if Achaz is incensed by his message and harms him, his son She'ar
would not be harmed, and would therefore return, but that strikes me as a rather
forced interpretation. Can anyone give a more lucid translation based on this
hypothestical punctuation?
Martin Stern
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End of Volume 64 Issue 15
